Newington Committee Wants Guidance On Town Hall Project

Newington building committee wants to know how much the town council plans to spend on town hall project

NEWINGTON — The town hall building committee will meet July 15 with the town council to clarify how much council members want to spend on the project.

A majority of building committee members appears to have coalesced around a proposal to tear down the existing town hall and community center and erect a $35 million to $37 million structure. That's significantly more than the $30 million cost the council has suggested, but never formally set, building committee Chairman Alan Bongiovanni said.

"Before we make a final recommendation, tell us what the ballpark is so we aren't spinning our wheels," Bongiovanni said. "We need some guidance."

Mayor Stephen Woods said the town would schedule one and perhaps two public hearings as soon as possible after the July 15 meeting, Woods said. Ultimately, residents, who must approve the project at referendum, need to decide what they want, Woods said. He urged them to attend any hearings scheduled and express their opinions.

"I'll do what it takes to get input from the public," he said. "This is not my town hall. This is not my community center. It's theirs. I want it to be right for them."

A group of residents that regularly attends building committee meetings, meanwhile, have said that even $30 million may be too much for voters. They have called repeatedly on the committee to find a cheaper way to upgrade or replace the badly deteriorating town hall and community center.

One resident, Steven Silvia, proposed converting a partially vacant building on Alumni Road into a new town hall and community center or building a new structure next to the existing town hall.

But Bongiovanni said that the committee's construction manager and architect reviewed both of Silvia's proposals and found them impractical. Rehabilitating the existing building — another suggestion of critics — would cost $44 million, even more than a new building, he said.

"He did some good work and put a lot of thought into it, but I think as an overall solution, I don't think it pans out for us," Bongiovanni said.

Critics have also suggested building only one gym instead of the two requested by the parks and recreation department, but that would only save about $1.2 million, Bongiovanni said.

Bongiovanni backed away from an earlier prediction that a proposal could not be ready in time for the November ballot. He now says it's possible.

Bongiovanni warned that delaying the project would likely escalate costs even more, as construction prices typically rise 4 to 5 percent a year.

"Ideally, we all thought, sooner will be better," he said.

Woods said, however, he saw no problem with holding a later referendum if necessary.

Voters last year overwhelmingly defeated a $30 million proposal to rebuild town hall and move the community center from the structure into a new building in Mill Pond Park. The plan to build in Mill Pond Park was the primary reason for the plan's defeat, although organizers of the "no" effort maintain that cost was another major factor.